You could reasonably nominate the entire Ireland pack for inclusion this week but I am reining myself in by restricting it to just two: Sean O’Brien and Paul O’Connell.

One or two southern hemisphere types couldn’t understand why O’Brien was so highly-rated last season that he was voted European Player of the Year. Well, they know now.

All his enormous power and aggression came into play as the Leinster man laid waste to the Aussie pack and his performance was all the more remarkable in that he was out of position, playing openside flanker, and was just returning after a knee injury.

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The Lions captain from 2009 is on a mission at the moment and is playing some of the best rugby of his life in the knowledge that, aged 31, this is probably going to be his last World Cup.

O’Connell rose above Ireland’s indifferent form in their warm-up matches and was outstanding against the US in New Plymouth, but he surpassed that, and some, against Australia with a staggering all-round performance and, by all accounts, an impassioned prematch pep-talk in the changing room that had him and his forwards in tears.

The Munster man had been struggling with injury for the first half of last season but is back with a vengeance.

Jamie Roberts, Wales

Nothing has been more impressive about Wales in this World Cup than the re-emergence of Jamie Roberts as a world-class centre who is loving New Zealand after a quiet time of it following his rampaging tour of South Africa with the Lions in 2009.

Fully fit and free of injury, and with his medical exams out of the way for the time being, Roberts was on the case again on Sunday against the Samoans, meeting fire with fire as well as proving what a deft passer of the ball he can be.

And in young fly-half Rhys Priestland Wales have finally identified the playmaker who can bring Roberts’ power into play and get the big Cardiff Blues man running on to the ball at pace.

Morgan Parra, France

Most of the kickers seem to have been struggling with the balls in this World Cup but nobody appears to have told Morgan Parra that.

On a difficult and wet night at Napier he kicked beautifully to garner 23 points for France in their 46-19 win over the obdurate Canadians.

“It is not the balls, it is the wind that has been troubling some of the kickers,” he insists.

The versatile Parra is a scrum-half but France coach Marc Lièvremont, who prefers Dimitri Yachvili at scrum-half, has decided that as one of France’s form players, 22-year-old Parra simply has to be in the side to play New Zealand on Saturday.